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Rose working out to the conclusion

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If Game 5 were to be the last game of the Bulls season—and it remained only possible early Wednesday evening—then Derrick Rose would be missing the entire 2012-13 NBA season.

Rose was out before the game in Miami doing his regular shooting drills and workouts, drenched in sweat as he circled the court shooting at all angles and with both hands.

But then it was a change into his suit to watch his teammates for Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Heat.

But Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said before Game 5, it’s nothing that has surprised the team and a decision with which the everyone is comfortable and always remained one of the possibilities.

“You didn’t know and we didn’t know. He didn’t know. He heeded Jerry’s (managing partner Reinsdorf) advice from the beginning. It was too important a decision to rush,” said Thibodeau, echoing comments he’d made before about the Rose conundrum.

“Until he’s completely comfortable we don’t want him out there,” said Thibodeau. “We knew this was a possibility. That’s fine. You deal with it as best you can. We want him to continue to work as he has been working and we want him completely healthy.”

Thibodeau also said the team understood from the beginning it could be a season without Rose and operated accordingly.

“We knew going into the season what we were going to be challenged with,” said Thibodeau. “You are never going to replace a guy like Derrick individually. We understood that. For us, the challenge was everyone functioning well as a team and knowing what your job is and going out and doing your job. Unfortunately, we took more hits along the way.”

About Sam Smith

Smith covered the Bulls and the NBA for the Chicago Tribune for 25 years. He is the author of the best selling The Jordan Rules, which was top ten on the New York Times Bestseller List for three months. He is also the author of Second Coming: The Strange Odyssey of Michael Jordan and co-author of the Total Basketball Encyclopedia. Smith served as president of the Professional Basketball Writers Association for four terms, a feat no one else has accomplished. He has also served on committees for the NBA and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. In 2012, Smith was honored by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame with its Curt Gowdy Media Award.